Ducklings

Malcolm and I took ourselves around the lakes of Straw's Bridge this morning.  With jumpers on again, following a dramatic drop in temperature, we managed to dodge the worst of the rain.  Our walk was rewarded by the sight of several families of Mallard ducklings.  Most of these little charmers are now large enough to fend for themselves but they're still sticking close to Mum and Dad.

The local wildlife group has spent much time and money restoring the margins of 'Swan Lake' and have created artificial, gravel 'beaches' in those areas which had been subject to the most erosion.  It has to be said, the ducklings seem to be very pleased with the results.

Along with the Mallard ducklings, there was also a pair of young Coots.  These too seem to be of an age where they're less dependent on their parents.   Their adult plumage is beginning to show through too.

Frogs and Cows

Despite the title, our short walk this morning didn't involve any amphibians or cattle.  We walked around the edge of the industrial estate close to our home, on our way to the lakes, affectionately referred to as 'Bogwashes'.  The 'cows' were in the form of Cow Parsley (Anthriscus sylvestris).  Growing tall and thickly around the grasslands in these parts, it is a very common and well known member of Britain's Spring flora.

A closer look at the flower heads, reveals a flat-topped 'Umbel' of small, white flowers with rather unequal petals.  The petals on the outer edge are much larger than the other four.

In the grass, we found a few small insects with a name alluded to in the first part of today's title.  Looking rather like a ladybird, these are actually Black and Red Froghoppers (Cercopis vulnerata).

Froghoppers are well known in our gardens, as their nymphs feed on the stems of plants, whipping the sap into a froth called 'cuckoo spit', in which they hide.  This particular species however, has nymphs which feed on roots of plants and so are almost never seen.  The rather striking adults - among the largest of the Froghopper species - are found all over Britain.

Sunny

Still sunny and warm this morning, but with a few more clouds to help cool things down a bit.  so a few more pictures from our past walks.  Firstly from our walk up Shipley Hill the other day, the Old Hall site has a lots of ornamental shrubs and trees to delight the eye and among the best at the moment are the Berberis.

Spiny, and unapproachable, the bronze-green leaves provide a fine backdrop to the golden flowers, the colour of marmalade on a sunny breakfast table.

Hiding among the undergrowth are several patches of other yellow flowers.  Paper-like petals and feathery leaves mark these out as Welsh Poppies (Meconopsis cambrica).  The Welsh Poppy is the only native member of the Meconopsis family to be found growing in Europe,  most of the rest of the family originating from the Himalayas and China.

Sunlit

More from our walk in the sun yesterday.
Close to where the spectacular Brooms were in full flower, there was a somewhat smaller flower trying to be seen.  Close to ground level and no more than a couple of millimetres across, the common Mouse-ear (Cerastium fontanum) is a member of the Carnation family but a little less showy.

On a much larger scale, it's always nice to get a good, panoramic view of your walk and yesterday's bright sunshine brightened up the scene beautifully.  Shipley Hill is looking very green and pleasant right now and the white-flowered Hawthorns in the hedges provide a few highlights.  After all the rain we've had, the grass is looking lush too, but if this hot, dry weather continues, we'll be back to 'square one' in no time.

New Broom

Spoiled once again by the wonderful weather, we set out for a walk along the old Colliery lines and through farmland before returning home via what have become known locally as the 'Hex Pools'.  It was from around these pools that today's photos came.  There are several Broom plants growing along the footpaths here and they all seem to be flowering their hearts out at the moment.  Viewed against the hawthorn trees, also in full bloom, the bright yellow of this shrub looks gorgeous, especially in the strong sunshine

But, beating this plant into a distant second place as far as colour goes, was another Broom, but this one was in a class of it's own.  The bright yellow was flushed with a deep red and the stems were covered.

Once again, in this sunshine, it looked stunningly beautiful.  Breathtaking!

Meadow

Our walk this morning, took us up Shipley Hill to the site of the Old Hall.  We descended the other side before returning around the bottom of the hill and crossing the wonderful meadow.
The grassland here is really something to see.  Standing un-mown, the grasses are about two feet high and dotted with Buttercups, Dandelions, Common Vetch, Sorrel and a host of other wild flowers.  Getting down to the grass level, you get a great view through it all.

Flowers of all shapes and sizes dot the undergrowth, but few are as odd-looking as those belonging to the Ribbed or Ribwort Plantain (Plantago lanceolata).

Most of the Dandelions have now ceased flowering and are spreading huge numbers of seed from their 'clocks' in the breeze.  We have watched many birds in recent days, feeding from these clocks and at first sight it looks like they're not getting much of a meal.  But, if you get a closer look, you find that there is actually quite a lot of seed to be eaten especially if you are a Sparrow or Goldfinch.

New

Still hot this morning, but no 'walk in the park' as we needed some shopping.  So, it was off to Tesco before returning to do a little gardening - Whew!  What a scorcher it was, clipping the hedge, sweeping the path and mowing the grass.
No walk, but something new from yesterday's walk around Mapperley Reservoir.  A very small, blue-flowered plant was found growing close to the reservoir and on closer inspection, the tiny flowers looked rather 'Speedwell-like'.

Not a plant I was familiar with, so the identification guide book came into it's own.  Turns out, there was a good reason for it looking like a Speedwell flower - It was a Speedell flower!  Thyme-leaved Speedwell (Veronica serpyllifolia).  Another new tick for my life lists.  Another New tick this morning too as a Holly Blue Butterfly (Celastrina argiolus) was flitting about in the Pyracantha in the back garden.  True to form, I didn't have my camera with me at the time, so no picture, but a beautiful little butterfly and a real joy to see.